text; un: armand

[rescinded_vow]

[ The text post is dated the 10th and Armand frowns at his phone as he types. There's still time, but it's certainly not long to find the answers he seeks. He glances at the bottle of blood on the kitchen counter and snaps a quick photo to include with his question. ]

Is there any doctor or person of science that can help with studying this:

[It's...well yep, that sure is a bottle of blood. It's even helpfully labelled like a carton of milk!]

I wish to know everything possible about this, but my understanding is not comprehensive enough. I am hopeful to find tools and equipment at the University campus, but another's experience would be appreciated greatly.

Comments

text | @stray

[kampfgeist]

looks like blood

[ he's v helpful ]

what do you wanna know about it?

text; un: armand

[rescinded_vow]

[ Armand squints at the reply. So helpful. ]

Whether it is human, animal, synthetic. Can it be heated without degrading the quality, is there any quality to speak of to begin with. I wish to know a great many things about it.

Are you learned in haematology?

[kampfgeist]

there's animal meat in the city despite there not being animals
and no precedent that i know of for things to be labeled incorrectly
so if the carton says it's human then it's probably human.
but i doubt you'd be able to figure out exactly what human it came from

"origin of groceries" is one of our ongoing mysteries

don't microwave it though. it'll blow up the cells
i'm not an expert in haematology but i grew up in a lab so i've seen some shit

[rescinded_vow]

This is...useful information. Thank you. So everything that is consumable is still of unknown origin no matter the item?

[kampfgeist]

exactly. consumables are there, we take and consume them
then x number of days later the city replenishes what's missing through means unknown

nobody has figured out where they come from or how they restock yet

but i did hear that the timeline has changed recently

@Samsa

[anthropophagite]

It looks like blood.

This place has all kinds of diets available. [ calling it a diet feels terrible, but what else should he call it...? ]

[rescinded_vow]

'Diet' indeed. It is blood - however, it is also damnably confounding that it is of any sustenance at all without knowing it's source.

Are their others with unusual nourishment needs?

[anthropophagite]

It is worrying. But I suppose that is better than having to rely on the people who live here.
I mean, perhaps what they provide here is synthetic.

And I'm not sure. If this place has it, I suppose there are. [ yes, indeed, there are others with very unusual nourishment needs. ]

[rescinded_vow]

[ Armand makes a face at the word 'synthetic'. ]

That is exactly what I wish to ascertain - to synthesize such a thing - it is abhorrent.

text; un: louis (private)

[deathoftheauthor]

( Louis doesn't know why, but somehow he feels like this is his fault, which makes it more than slightly embarrassing. )

I see you found it...

text; un: armand (private)

[rescinded_vow]

Indeed. I know Lestat has no plans to drink it and neither do I currently, but you have subsisted on it this long and starvation is a foolish endeavour. It is difficult to contemplate drinking what feels like 'dead' blood, however.

-> permaprivate 🧛

[deathoftheauthor]

I don't like the thought of either of you going without.

It's tolerable. It's enough to stave off the pain of thirst, even if it's nothing like the real thing. I can hardly fool myself when there's no living pulse, but how can I possibly reject it?

[rescinded_vow]

Oh it is very easy to reject it for now

[ Armand makes a childishly disgusted face as he types this and eyes the bottle in front of him once more. ]

..It is as I said about this place however, Louis. What has been provided is mere survival, not living.

[ There's a small pause between messages as he considers. ]

You were never one for the little drink were you?

text | un: kitsuragi

[aceslow]

I think others have sufficiently covered that it's blood by now. Even if we had scientists at our disposal to study it further, I'm not sure that whatever equipment we have at the University would be enough to properly analyze it.

What were you curious about, exactly?

text | un: armand

[rescinded_vow]

Blood without a heart to pump it, cold blood, without a body or a source, is 'dead'. In practice I know this not truly to be the case, but all the more reason I wish to know it's makeup. How it can still be nourishing in it's state confounds me, as does it's source - though I see that this is the case with all items here.

text | un: armand

[aceslow]

That's right. Vegetables without farms, meat without a single animal in our midst, milk and butter without cows, prepackaged goods without any manufacturing factories.

I'll admit I don't know much about diets that require blood. Is it really that necessary for it to come directly from a living source? I imagine having a shelf-stable supply is more convenient.

[ And probably more ethical. But that's a whole other question. ]

[rescinded_vow]

[ Armand considers. ]

Perhaps not necessary, I will concede that, but it is vastly unpalatable in it's current state.

...So these items just 'restock' while we sleep? has anyone conducted a watch rotation to witness this at all? I'm curious.

text | un: lsk

[condorone]

Looks like blood to me, but I'm not a doctor or a scientist.

Have you found a yet with an actual background in this kind of thing yet?

text; un: armand

[rescinded_vow]

It is 'genuine', in that yes, it is blood of unknown origin.

Unfortunately not, no one has presented themselves such as of yet. I will continue searching however - this is sustenance for some here and it is as unnerving as the rest of the groceries that restock on a whim, with no source, though perhaps more so.

[condorone]

( He's still getting used to the idea of non-human things being here and not being dangerous so just... give him a second. )

Not knowing the source for this kind of thing worries me. Blood can do a pretty nasty number on someone.

Let me know if you do. I'd be interested in seeing what that blood might be able to tell us.

( And he has a parasite problem a doctor might be able to help with. )

[rescinded_vow]

You and I are of the same mind. Some have survived on this for a few months without known side effects so far, but I am still hesitant with a lack of origin other than 'it appears in a chiller cabinet'.

I had planned to investigate the university for equipment, but without someone approaching an expert it seems a wasteful errand. I would appreciate any assistance however, if you too are seeking someone of knowledge.

text; un: avidya

[wreatharrow]

Just where did you find something like that?

text; un: armand

[rescinded_vow]

It's available in most of the grocery stores in this place, if you can believe that.

[wreatharrow]

I can certainly study it, but I would need to know what it is that you are, specifically, looking for?

Just showing up in the shops like that. Odd.

[rescinded_vow]

Oh? then I would know even it's basic makeup. Human, animal, synthetic? Is it contaminated in anyway or is at all unusual? These things I would know if you are amicable to research and sharing it.